I have not experienced this much with the bulldogs but when we had Fila Brasileiros (Brazillian Mastiffs) it is a lot more prevalent. Another issue with big dogs. We had one female on her first heat looked like she was giving birth about a week into cycle.

I never uses sugar but did use paper towels and gently massage the area. Two fold response, there will be some fluid loss on to the towel and your female will really, really like you, LOL. The big dogs gets the big collars as well because even if they do not bite it they sometimes will lick it til raw.

This particular female had it on the first couple of heats but by the end she had not exactly normal but much better heats/swelling. By the time she was three it was just slightly enlarged and she threw 11 pups. At four she threw 10. No issues.

I would not spay a bitch early on for this as time can fix a lot.

EWO